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Average diameter erc you like to cut

Started by 1woodguy, March 07, 2012, 06:01:32 AM

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1woodguy

Hi, Was curious what sizes are actually worth your time
  I looked some over today biggest was 22in lots at 14to 16 most are smaller
One area is nothing but 6or7 to 10 inch that's outside the bark 5ft up mostly wanted erc  for woodworking

Still deciding about a mill make or buy
  Talked to a brother last night he was negative about it said we should have done this when we were younger blah blah he agrees with wife that this is a dumb idea
  I disagree  :)
I think a mill would be perfect!!!!!
Now how to pay for one
guess I could think about buying some from a mill
Make things sell them to the folks here at the lake ang go from there
Decisions decisions
Thanks
Experience is a rough teacher first you get the test later comes the lesson!

WDH

I don't generally saw anything that is less than 10" on the small end.  Otherwise, most all the boards from smaller logs have a high proportion of juvenile wood and/or the pith, and the small logs are all bones and no meat.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Cedarman

A lot depends on what your markets are. For cedar the worst wood is the outside jacket boards in most cases so huge logs are not necessary to get high quality wood.  A 6" log will make a 4x4.  At 8' that post sells for $11.00  We sell thousands and thousands of those.  7" will make 5" lumber or a 5x5, large 8" and 9" will make 6x6x8.  10" make some nice 7" lumber.  11" make great 2x8 which are in hot demand for raised garden beds. 12" and up make for good lumber, but tend to have more ingrown bark and big knots.
A nice fellow from very northwest Ar is driving to Aaron's in Stillwater for 24  4x4x8 and 75  2x8x8 to make a seawall.
$1224.00   
You can make money sawing cedar IF you can find the markets.  That is harder than the sawing in some cases.
A big job in Norman Ok for 6x6 was lost because no one within driving distance could provide the wood.
If you have lots of cedar logs, then a small mill can make you money, you won't make a living, but when you saw, it will be good money for your time. As your reputation spreads, you can become the local go to guy for cedar and business will build.  People will drive 100's of miles to get what they want.  And will pay others to haul large orders long distances.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

1WOODGUY.....If your 111 years old now, I agree with your brother. You should have thought about a mill when you were in your early 90's.  :)
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Magicman

He could not buy one then 'cause his Daddy wouldn't let him.  'Fraid he would hurt himself.

I have an ERC job to saw tomorrow for a repeat customer.  He said the smallest log was 6".  I hope that was the little end.   :o
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Ozarkian

So far for me - around 12" diam at small end has produced great quality lumber.  When looking at the small end, I like to see mostly purple with a little white around the edge.  I only have sawn ERC. 

Here are a couple of pics I recently took of some I have sawn lately, beautiful wood!  ;D

4"x4"x8' after running it through my 15" Delta planer.



And some 1x6's that are rough cut but beautiful!  Looks like Strawberry's n Creme or something! 



-Ozarkian

13h.p. EZ Boardwalk JR.

Chris Burchfield

Anything in Memphis larger than 12" tends to have a lot of punky wood or heart rot.
Woodmizer LT40SH W/Command Control; 51HP Cat, Memphis TN.

tcsmpsi

Average erc diameter that I like to cut?.....any that I can clamp on to the mill.    :D
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

MHineman

  The big mills in Indiana all buy by the Doyle scale.  At about 20" DIB, the Doyle scale about matches the International 4/4 scale.  The Int'l 4/4 scale follows the actual yield fairly close at all diameters.
  I sell most of the logs I pull out of the woods that are 20" and up.  I mill most logs 16" down to 12" myself and market the lumber since I get about 30% more lumber from a 14" log than the Doyle scale would pay me.  An 18" log depends on the quality and if I need more lumber.
  Unless it's a high value species like Walnut, Cherry, etc., I make firewood out of anything under 12".
  When I custom saw for others, I charge by the hour for logs 14" and under.  They usually like that better than hearing a minimum charge per log and is fairer to the customer.
  The longer the log, the larger the diameter needs to be to get a good yield of full length boards.  Both because of taper and the log moving due to stress release.
1999 WM LT40, 40 hp 4WD tractor, homemade forks, grapple, Walenstein FX90 skidding winch, Stihl 460 039 saws,  homebuilt kiln, ......

eastberkshirecustoms

Quote from: 1woodguy on March 07, 2012, 06:01:32 AM
Talked to a brother last night he was negative about it said we should have done this when we were younger blah blah he agrees with wife that this is a dumb idea
But if you had gotten one when you were younger you would've had to worry about the paddle wheel and a flowing stream ;) ;D.  No time like the present. I say go for it! It will keep you young...well... (er)

wood monger

Ozarkian, I never get tired of looking at that awesome coloration and grain of that ERC. I wish we had smellavision, maybe Jeff can work on that.

cypresskayaksllc

Depends on which way the winds blowing
LT40HDDR, JD950FEL, Weimaraner

Magicman

Quote from: Magicman on March 07, 2012, 07:48:43 AM
I have an ERC job to saw tomorrow for a repeat customer.  He said the smallest log was 6".  I hope that was the little end.   :o 

::)  It was the big end on more than one "log".  One was no more than 2" little end that did not go on the sawmill.  I wanted to take a picture, but I know that it would have hurt his feelings, plus it will be easier to forget without a picture to remind me.  All saw jobs are not good jobs, but I made 80 bucks.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

shelbycharger400

cuttin them down,  anything smaller than 20 ".  !!!    i took down several.  straight as an arrow.  i cut into them,  very small v,   back cut at an angle,  they just stood their.  had to wack wedges in to get them to fall.    3 i took down over 26 in dia are hollow

tcsmpsi

Quote from: tcsmpsi on March 07, 2012, 09:27:03 AM
Average erc diameter that I like to cut?.....any that I can clamp on to the mill.    :D


That being said, I (if a fellow realllllly had his druthers) would take these exclusively.    ;D



 
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

WDH

Quote from: Magicman on March 08, 2012, 03:48:32 PM
but I made 80 bucks.

Hopefully you did not have to buy gas so that you ended up with enough to get some supper  :).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Cedarman

I have a potential order for 1500 pieces that are logs  2 1/2" up to 4" max that are cut in 1/2 lengthwise and then cut to 16" exactly.  We will make a jig that we will slice the little pole in 1/2, then use a chop saw to make them 16".  Now I'm not saying we like to saw this small, but we like the money sawing them brings in.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

Magicman

That was 2 blocks from home and 1½ hours of work.  I used the same blade that I finished sawing the SYP with yesterday, so no extra blade sharpening expense was incurred.  After we finished, he had a nice whack of ½" Cedar lumber for his projects and I even took him home with me and we had a sammich.   :)

How 'bout that for leading a thread to food.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

hackberry jake

what are they doing with them little fellas Cedarman?
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

hackberry jake

Or these


I still havent sawn them up yet, guess I need to get on the ball
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

WDH

You can't catch a rabbit with your dog tied  :D.  You need to get on the stick (and the stickers  :D).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Cedarman

If they do take them, they will be used to place around a tree many feet above the ground and wrapped with ropes or cable.  The pieces protect the tree from the stress of the cables.
Mine is not to reason why, mine is just to saw and cash the check.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

Magicman

Quote from: Cedarman on March 09, 2012, 07:43:06 AM
Mine is not to reason why, mine is just to saw and cash the check. 

Exactly,  I do not question the customer what odd sized lumber is for.  If they volunteer then I am all ears and if they ask for advice, I'll offer what I have, but the customer's business is the customer's business.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

hackberry jake

https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

Cedarman

Hackbery, I think the trees are anchors for zip lines.  Lots of them.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

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